Kansas to Use AirMap in Pioneering Effort at Unmanned Traffic Management

Kansas is taking a leadership position in efforts to expand and grow the drone industry in a manner that is safe and responsible. Using Airmap technology Kansas will be the first state in the country to implement an Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) capability.

Unmanned Traffic Management, or UTM, is the technological infrastructure that facilitates data exchange and air traffic control for drones. By implementing technologies that will one day be part of a nationwide UTM framework, Kansas is the first U.S. state to take a proactive approach to protecting the privacy, safety and security of state residents while empowering drone entrepreneurship. The KDOT-AirMap partnership will foster a thriving drone economy with the potential to contribute billions in economic impact and create thousands of jobs in the state.

The KDOT-AirMap collaboration will lay the foundation for a statewide UTM infrastructure by deploying technology capable of:

Delivering safety-critical information from state and local agencies to drones for situational awareness and flight planning

Facilitating collaboration, communication and data exchange between state and local authorities and drones and their operators

Fostering public awareness about drone regulations and airspace requirements

Automating airspace notification and authorization at Kansas airports

Demonstrating sophisticated solutions that safeguard public safety and personal privacy, including technology for geofencing and remote identification

Enabling high-scale and complex operations beyond visual line of sight

The initiative will make AirMap’s airspace management dashboard available to every airport in Kansas. Using the AirMap platform, participating airports will be able to accept digital flight notices, communicate with drone operators and prepare for UTM milestones on the horizon, including automating airspace notification and authorization for commercial drone flights.

Government entities and agencies throughout the state will be trained to use the AirMap platform to support their own drone operations and provide safety-critical information to drone operators, including first responder activity, locations of critical infrastructure, local landmarks, community events and more.

State colleges and universities will also receive access to the AirMap platform, including AirMap’s APIs and SDKs for developers, to empower students and faculty to participate in research and development to discover new drone applications.

“Drones are already contributing to the Kansas economy as they start to be employed by farmers, ranchers, realtors, first responders and our public agencies,” said Bob Brock, Director of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and Deputy Director of Aviation at the Kansas Department of Transportation. “By partnering with AirMap, we ensure that the state of Kansas is a perfect place to fly drones and build strong UAS companies. Kansas is open for business.”

“Soon, there will be more drones in our skies than cars on our roads,” said AirMap cofounder Gregory S. McNeal. “The AirMap-KDOT partnership will help Kansas prepare for this next frontier in aviation, creating the digital infrastructure the state will need to safely, securely and efficiently benefit from high-scale drone operations. We’re thrilled to partner with KDOT to open Kansas skies for drones.”

The UTM initiative builds upon Kansas’ long history of aviation innovation, paving the way for the state to mobilize drones for disaster recovery, search and rescue, agriculture, construction, package delivery and other community benefits. Aviation is already the state’s second largest industry, supporting nearly 92,000 jobs and generating an economic output of nearly $20.6 billion. By deploying AirMap airspace management technology across the state – and working with AirMap to demonstrate sophisticated UTM solutions in a series of technical demonstrations – Kansas will be uniquely positioned to capture a significant share of the drone opportunity.

DroneLife Take: Whether this will be the optimal UTM solution is to be determined but the state and Airmap deserve some credit for actually doing something. Finally someone is taking a substantial step in moving this critical technology forward